U.S. Pat. No. 7,560,553, incorporated herein by reference, describes various compounds, including the class of compounds whose synthesis is described herein, as neurogenesis agents. Thus, the compounds prepared according to the invention method are useful in the treatment of various conditions which benefit from promoting neurogenesis by proliferation/differentiation of human hippocampal multipotent stem/progenitor cells and neuronal progenitors. Such conditions include Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, schizophrenia and the like. The synthesis method provided by the invention avoids the use of controlled substances such as benzyl piperazine.